Lexus' 11 Year Reign as U.S. Luxury Sales Leader to End, German Rivals in Front

Lexus' streak as the top U.S. luxury car brand for the last 11 years will be coming to an end.

The reason? Japan's earthquake in March meant lost sales for the luxury car maker, Mark Templin, a Lexus division manager told reporters, according to Reuters.

He said sales would drop about 17 percent to around 190,000 units in 2011, according to the report.

He said June was the trough but says he expects to see much better results for the remainder of the year.

Total sales in the first half of 2011 were 88,010.

In the same period, sales of rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz were 113,705 and 110,925, respectively.